Over 200 people were in attendance to celebrate the graduation of our 48 senior Littles – the largest graduating class in the history of our agency! For the fourth consecutive year, 100% of the seniors in our Community Based& Site-Based programs graduated from high school. Their future plans include joining the military, going to cosmetology school, and, for the majority, enrolling in college. We have Littles attending the University of Illinois – Urbana-Champaign, the University of Illinois – Chicago, the University of Toledo, Howard University, Harvard University, the University of Missouri, and the University of Dayton – just to name a few!

We would also like to extend a special thanks to the Alvin H. Baum Foundation for supporting the first-ever Alvin H. Baum Brighter Futures Award which was awarded to one lucky winner – Little Sister Dani who will be attending Carthage College in the Fall. The Alvin H. Baum Brighter Futures Award will help Dani pay for the expenses of college.
The applications that we received were all so inspirational that the Alvin H. Baum Foundation decided to increase their support for this event. This means that all Littles who applied will be receiving an award to help them with college!

See below to read an excerpt from Dani's application:

Big Sister Francesca and Little Sister Dani

"I will be attending my dream school, Carthage College, in the fall where I will be studying political science, business and Japanese, while taking the pre-law requisites. After my undergraduate study I’ll be applying to law school. What I will become is a corporate lawyer for a Japanese animation company. This would be a dream come true for me, where I can combine my love for law with my love for Japanese culture, especially anime.
My mentor, Francesca, has been absolutely amazing in every single way, as a mentor, role model, and friend. Words cannot describe how happy I am that she is part of my life, and how I’ve loved to her grow these last few years as well. Being able to see her change jobs, fall in love, get married, all of it has been a blessing."

Thank you to everyone who made this night special and congratulations to all the graduates!

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